He chuckled softly before saying, “But…?”
“You know me well,” she replied with amusement. “But…I feel really weird about us sleeping together with the kids in the next room. Are we going to scar them?”
“No one’s going to be scarred, I promise. Annabeth asked me about this, and I explained the sleeping arrangements. And Jonah’s so excited to be sharing the bunk beds with Annabeth that I can practically guarantee that he’s not thinking about us at all.”
“Maybe.”
“But we will make sure everyone’s asleep before we go to bed, and we’ll be extra quiet.” He nuzzled her neck, and she let herself relax and enjoy the feel of him. It had been weeks, and she missed him so much. Those sexy lunches had kept her sane for a few weeks, so maybe she was a little needy right now.
Unfortunately, bedtime was several hours away. They still had to go and hit the water park and have dinner, so…
Turning in his arms, she kissed him—just a chaste kiss—before murmuring, “Let’s go and exhaust our children so they’ll go to bed early.”
His grin was positively wicked. “Sweetheart, that is the best plan I’ve ever heard.”
It took almost an hour to get everyone unpacked, changed, and ready, but it was the perfect kind of chaos. The kids were so excited and just hearing their joyful laughter and the way they were talking about all the things they were excited to do made Lexi’s heart happy.
She and Connor took turns getting themselves ready so that someone was watching Jonah and Annabeth at all times. It seemed like a Herculean task to get out the door, but they finally did. And after that, it was all water slides, splash pads, and basically frolicking in a variety of pools for a couple of hours.
When Connor announced that they had dinner reservations and needed to go back to the villa to dry off and change, Lexi was beyond relieved.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more waterlogged,” she told him as they grabbed their things and practically had to drag the kids away from the water park.
“We’ve got all day tomorrow,” he reminded them. “So let’s work on behaving and drying off so we can have a nice dinner, okay?”
There were mumbled agreements, but the way her son and his daughter dragged their feet was almost comical.
Dinner was at the resort's premier restaurant, where they dined on burgers, mac and cheese, and finished it off with a warm cookie skillet with ice cream.
“Not exactly gourmet,” Connor murmured as he paid the check, but she knew he could be a bit of a food snob.
“But it was yummy,” she told him and smiled when he agreed.
Jonah was nearly asleep, so Connor carried him back to the villa, and she noticed that Annabeth was moving a bit slowly too. Tonight’s bedtime was going to be a breeze.
And thankfully, it was.
An hour later, the two of them stepped into the main bedroom, shut the door, and locked it. The sound of the lock was almost comically loud.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Nodding, she gently kicked her shoes off. “It feels weird to lock the door, but I know it’s necessary.” Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed. “And I know they’re not babies, so we don’t need a monitor, but…”
Sitting down beside her, he took one of her hands in his and kissed it. “Believe it or not, I feel the same way. I’ve never had to lock my bedroom door because no one’s ever come home with me.”
That admission pleased her more than she thought it should.
It meant that he didn’t do this sort of thing. He wasn’t a player. She truly meant something to him.
And that was the best aphrodisiac.
Swallowing hard, she turned her head and met his gaze. “I kind of like that this is a first for both of us,” she whispered.
“Me too.” His voice was low and gruff and sent shivers of delight down her spine. “You know what else I like?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“The fact that we don’t have to say goodnight and go to separate rooms. That I can make love to you and then hold you in my arms all night and then go to sleep knowing you’re the first thing I’m going to see in the morning. I’ve waited a long time for this.”
